Beyond the Box: A Family Firm’s Sale and a Shifting Industry Landscape

NEW YORK, NY – June 02, 2026

On the surface, it’s a standard business announcement. Stickel Packaging Supply, a family-owned distributor that has served New Jersey and the greater New York metropolitan area for nearly four decades, has been sold. The buyer, Veritiv Operating Company, is a global packaging giant, itself a portfolio company of the private equity behemoth Clayton, Dubilier & Rice. The transaction, advised by Triad Securities Corp., represents a successful exit for the Borriello family, who built the business from the ground up since 1987.

But to dismiss this as just another line item in the M&A ledger is to miss the story unfolding within the press release's carefully chosen words. This isn't just about boxes and tape. It’s a narrative about legacy, consolidation, and the strategic absorption of local expertise by global capital. When Christopher Borriello, owner of Stickel, stated that "finding the right home for our employees and customers was what mattered most," he voiced the central anxiety and ultimate goal for thousands of family-owned businesses navigating a rapidly consolidating market. This acquisition offers a potent case study in the forces reshaping entire industries, one regional stalwart at a time.

The Strategic Play Behind the Purchase

Veritiv’s acquisition of Stickel is not an isolated event; it is a calculated move in a much larger strategic game. Since being taken private by Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) in a $2.6 billion deal in late 2023, Veritiv has been positioned for aggressive, disciplined growth. This purchase, along with another recently announced acquisition, is a classic “bolt-on” strategy, where a large platform company acquires smaller players to rapidly expand its geographic footprint, product capabilities, and market share.

According to Veritiv CEO Sal Abbate, the deal brings in "complementary products, strong customer relationships, and experienced teams." This is corporate shorthand for what Stickel truly represented: a deep-rooted, trusted presence in the lucrative and logistically complex Northeast corridor, including New Jersey, Philadelphia, and the New York metro area—markets Veritiv explicitly identified as “underrepresented.” For a national player, building that kind of trust and operational fluency from scratch is a slow, expensive process. Buying it is not.

The strategic rationale is clear. Veritiv gains Stickel's established customer base, its specialized knowledge in corrugated packaging and stretch-film solutions, and an experienced team without the growing pains of organic expansion. This move allows Veritiv to immediately enhance its service offerings in the region, leveraging its own national scale and deep resources to potentially offer Stickel's former clients a broader product catalog and more robust supply chain solutions. It’s a symbiotic play: Veritiv gets invaluable local DNA, and Stickel's legacy, in theory, is amplified by a larger platform.

The Art of the Exit: Preserving a Legacy

For the owners of a multi-generational business, the decision to sell is rarely just about the final number. It’s a complex emotional and financial calculus, weighing decades of work against the mounting pressures of a changing market. This is where specialized advisors like Triad Securities Corp. carve out their niche. Scott Daspin, Managing Director at Triad, noted, "Stickel is the kind of family-owned packaging business our practice was built around." His statement underscores a focus that transcends mere financial engineering.

The challenge for firms like Stickel is immense. They face competition from national distributors with massive purchasing power, the complexities of succession planning, and the capital investment required to keep up with technological and sustainability trends. An exit, therefore, often becomes the most viable path to securing the company's future and the family's wealth.

Triad’s role was to navigate this complex landscape. While the financial terms of the deal remain private, the context of the packaging M&A market provides clues to its attractiveness. The sector is hot. In 2025, deal volume increased by over 10%, with private equity buyers driving valuations to a median of 13.5x EBITDA. For a family-owned business, such a frothy market presents a golden opportunity. The “art of the exit” involves finding a buyer who not only meets the valuation expectations but also aligns with the seller’s non-financial goals. The emphasis on finding the "right home" suggests Triad successfully brokered a deal that promised continuity for the employees and a seamless transition for the customers who formed the bedrock of Stickel’s success for 39 years.

A Market in Motion: Consolidation Reshapes an Industry

Zooming out, the Veritiv-Stickel transaction is a single frame in a panoramic picture of industry-wide consolidation. The packaging sector, long considered a stable and resilient corner of the economy, is undergoing a period of intense transformation. Drivers include the relentless growth of e-commerce, which demands more sophisticated and durable packaging, and a powerful push toward sustainability, requiring investment in new materials and processes.

This dynamic has made the sector a prime target for strategic buyers and private equity firms looking for resilient investments with clear growth potential. The result is a wave of M&A activity that is fundamentally reshaping the competitive landscape. Large, well-capitalized players like Veritiv are systematically acquiring regional leaders to build out national and global networks. For every Stickel Packaging Supply that finds a strategic home, countless other smaller distributors feel the pressure of competing against these ever-expanding giants.

The implications are twofold. For customers, consolidation can be a mixed bag. They may gain access to a wider array of products, more advanced technologies, and potentially better pricing due to the economies of scale. However, they also risk losing the personal touch, flexibility, and deep-seated relationships that defined their partnership with a local, family-run supplier. The promise from Veritiv and the Borriello family is that this transition will offer the best of both worlds, but the execution of that promise is what will ultimately determine the deal's true success.

Ultimately, Veritiv didn't just buy a packaging distributor. It bought nearly 40 years of market presence, customer loyalty, and hard-won local knowledge in one of the nation's most competitive economic regions. This acquisition highlights a fundamental truth of modern business: in a globalized world, the most valuable assets are often deeply local.